Mesler and Olsen Each Tally Three as Men's Lacrosse Rallies for 10-8 Win over Florida Southern

MISENHEIMER, N.C. – Pfeiffer University tallied seven of the last eight goals in a come-from-behind 10-8 victory over Florida Southern in men’s lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at N.E. Lefko Field. Dan Mesler (Branchport, NY) and Chad Olsen (Great Mills, MD) each scored three as the Falcons even up to 6-6 on the season while the Moccasins fall to 2-8.

The Mocs came out of the gate scoring the first four goals of the match as Corey Brown (Clayton, NY) assisted on Jackson Van Yahres (Charlotte, NC) and Jon Freda’s (Merrick, NY) strikes in an early 2-0 lead. Cam Holding (Lansing, MI) put home the third tally as the Mocs led 3-0 after one.

Brown registered his own goal from a Holding assist two-and-a-half minutes into the second before Pfeiffer bounced back with three-straight creating a 4-3 contest. Olsen and Mesler each hit on man-up opportunities while Justin Rose (Rochester, NY) slammed home a goal from Kory Lutes (Orlando, FL) just past the halfway point of the second. Freda hit again with 1:51 to go in the half giving Florida Southern a 5-3 lead at the break, never trailing in the half.

The Mocs kept the pressure on with the first two goals of the third as Brown and Seabrooke Carter (Annapolis, MD) each tallied unassisted for a 7-3 advantage. The Falcon comeback began with Derrick Ensor’s (Finksburg, MD) unassisted goal at 4:14 before Olsen and John Metz (O’Fallon, MO) hooked up at the 2:15 mark. With just under a minute to play in the third, Ensor found Metz for another Pfeiffer goal and a 7-6 deficit through three.

Mesler took matters into his own hands starting the fourth with a pair of goals at 14:19 and 9:43, both unassisted, for the Falcons first lead of the afternoon 8-7. Brown scored his final of three on the day at 7:41 to knot the contest back up at 8-8 before Rose and Olsen hit again in the final 6:18 for the two-goal win.

Robert Adams (Concord, NC) had a team-high five groundballs for Pfeiffer while Anthony LaMarca (Long Island, NY) caused a pair of Florida Southern turnovers. For the visitors, Brown also chipped in with three assists to go along with his hat trick. Chase Juelich (Cooper City, FL) had a match-high six groundballs and four caused turnovers.

Pfeiffer gets back to action on Tuesday in Conference Carolinas play against Lees-McRae. As of Saturday, the game is still scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Banner Elk, but could be moved to Pfeiffer due to unplayable field conditions in the mountains. Fans should check GoFalconSports.com for the latest over the weekend.